The Masked Ball
by Serena-chan1
Summary: Chapter 2 up! Harry-Ginny fluff with a Cinderella twist! PG for some kissing. r&r!
1. Part One

**The Masked Ball**

**by Serena-chan**

A/N: Here's a little Harry/Ginny fluff just in time for Valentine's Day!

Note: This takes place the year after _The Goblet of Fire._

DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything.

**Chapter One: Frigid Weather**

The month of January had not been kind to Hogwarts, and the month of February didn't seem to be going much better. Frigid winds, icy blizzards, and below-zero temperatures had kept students and teachers alike trapped inside the school. Hogsmead trips were canceled. Care of magical creatures lessons had to be taught inside the school, and, because the snow prevented creatures from being transported to and from the castle, lessons had been very dull except for the occasional book bag being chewed up by one of the care of magical creatures books. Even the owls had to stay indoors as the winds were too strong for them to fly.

Needless to say, with no news from the outside world and not being able to leave the castle, everyone was suffering from severe cases of cabin fever. Teachers were snippy with one another, and students got into fights in the halls on a regular basis. To put it quite simply, everyone was in a really fowl mood.

To make matters worse, the usually drafty corridors and classrooms were now icy in temperature. Everyone was coming down with colds, and Madam Pomfrey was so swamped with patients that she was telling anyone who would listen that she would go mad if the weather didn't improve soon.

Albus Dumbledoor had always disliked being around people who were in fowl moods, and he disliked it even more when he felt such moods begin to creep up upon himself. Something must be done, he decided, to raise everyone's spirits, but what?

The following day, as Harry Potter was trudging down the stairs of the boys' dormitories, he noticed a large group of students in the commons crowding around the Grifindoor message board. He hurried forward, but couldn't see for a group of fourth year girls squealing and jumping up and down in front of the board.

"It's another ball," said Ron, coming up beside him.

Harry groaned. "I hope it won't be as bad as the last one."

"Yeah, the Yule Ball was pretty awful," Ron admitted. "Still, it will be nice to have some excitement around here."

"True," Harry admitted. He thought about last year's ball. Maybe this time he could ask Cho to be his date. "Who's your date going to be?"

"No dates this time," said Ron, shaking his head. "It's a masked ball. We're not supposed to let anyone know who we are. I guess Dumbledoor thinks that'll help everyone get along."

Ginny felt excitement building inside her as she read the large post on the message board. It said:

**Hogwarts to Hold a Masked Ball**

**Professor Dumbledoor, in his wisdom, has decreed that due to the unhappy conditions we find ourselves in, Hogwarts will hold a masked ball to lift everyone's spirits. The ball will be held on Monday, February 14th, Valentines Day. Classes will be canceled to give everyone a chance to prepare for the evening's events. All students and faculty are welcome to attend.**

**Because those attending will have no opportunity to prepare costumes for this event, Professor Dumbledoor has invited Madam Spindleweb, known throughout England for her magical costumes and fancy dress robes, to rent out appropriate attire for this event.**

**Boys will be fitted for their attire on Friday, February 11th, and girls will be on Saturday, February 12th. Professor Dumbledoor hopes that you all will attend and enjoy yourselves.**

**Professor McGonagall**

Ginny's spirits soared as she finished reading the post. Perhaps this would be the chance she had been hoping for.


	2. Part Two

**The Masked Ball**

**By Serena-chan**

**Part Two:**

Saturday morning arrived cold and blustery, but the girls of Hogwarts didn't mind a bit. They eagerly lined the corridors outside an unused classroom that

Madam Spindleweb had used to set up a makeshift fitting room. The girls had been arranged to come in according to what year they were in. First years would be fitted from 9am to 10am, second years from 10am to 11am, and so on and so forth.

Ginny eagerly stood waiting in line with the rest of the fourth year girls. True, she had ended up at the back of the line, but she didn't care. She was so excited! Because of her family's bleak financial situation, she had never owned anything lovely to wear to such events as balls. Soon, however, she would be fitted for a gown made by one of the most prestigious dressmakers in all London. She could hardly wait to slip into something lovely, even if it was just for one night.

It was nearly 1pm before Ginny got her turn to be fitted. Already there were fifth year girls lining up behind her. Nervously, Ginny entered the room, and found herself surrounded with racks of clothing, trunks of masks and jewelry, and stands filled with shoes. Ginny had never seen so many beautiful things in all her life.

Madam Spindleweb was a tall, thin woman with dark black hair that was pulled up into an ornate bun of braids and curls. She reminded Ginny of a very elegant spider.

"Hello dear," she said warmly. "Are you the last of the fourth years?" When Ginny nodded, she continued, "Well then we shall have to find something very special for you, won't we?"

Ginny didn't have a chance to reply because Madam Spindleweb had already flicked her wand in Ginny's direction. Ginny found herself being thoroughly measured, by a somewhat pushy tape measure.

"Just let me get your measurements, dear, and then the real fun can begin." Madam Spindleweb flicked her wand once more, and the tape measure retreated. A long rack of clothes rolled forward. It was positively overflowing with gorgeous gowns, all in Ginny's size. The colors were all bright and bold, many of them dripping with feathers and flashy beadwork.

"Now then, dear, how about this one." Madam Spindleweb pulled out a green silk gown with flashy deep green beadwork. "This will set off that red hair of yours beautifully."

A long, gold trimmed mirror rolled forward. Ginny held the dress up in front of herself. It was true; the deep greens of the dress set her red hair ablaze in a most charming fashion. However, Ginny had never dressed in something this bold before, and she wasn't quite sure that she'd be comfortable doing so.

"I'm not sure that green's my color," said Ginny. "Pink's always been my favorite."

With a wave of her wand, Madam Spindleweb whisked the green dress away and produced a hot pink garment with lighter pink frills. It was pretty, but Ginny was dismayed to see that it was even brighter than the green dress. Besides, when she held it up in front of the mirror, it clashed horribly with her hair.

"Yes," said Madam Spindleweb, making a face, "I don't think pink will be quite right in this situation."

"Don't you have something a little more, well, subtle?" Ginny asked tentatively.

"Ahh, so you favor a more pastel shade of pink? Well, I might have just the thing right here. Mind you, it won't be nearly as flashy as what all the other girls are wearing." She dug through the rack of clothes, muttering to herself, until finally she gave a triumphant cry and pulled out a pale pink satin gown.

Ginny gasped as she held the gown up to herself. It was the most beautiful piece of clothing she had ever set eyes on. It was sleeveless with a subtle design embroidered on it with silver thread and pearls. Her eyes sparkled as she looked at herself in the mirror and tried to envision herself in something this lovely.

"Yes," said Madam Spindleweb appreciatively. "Yes, that will do quite nicely. You'll certainly stand out from all the other girls."

"I suppose it is a lot simpler that what the other girls chose to wear," Ginny said.

"True," nodded Madam Spindleweb, "but remember: In simplicity can be found the greatest elegance of all." Ginny blushed as Madam Spindleweb continued, "You know, your the first girl to come in here who hasn't chosen the first flashy thing I handed to them, and I respect that. So, I'm going to make you my pet project."

"Oh, you don't have to do that," said Ginny, embarrassed.

"Of course I do, dear. I like a girl with a good sense of fashion, and I'm going to make sure that you're not outshined by all the other bright costumes. Now, for jewelry. . . " She rummaged around in a trunk before pulling out a crown, earrings, and gloves. The crown was a simple ring of pearls with a diamond that sparkled in the center of the forehead. The earrings were extravagant things of pearls and diamonds that glimmered brilliantly in the dim light of the classroom. The gloves were long white satin.

Ginny was speechless. She opened her mouth to say something, but Madam Spindleweb waved a hand to stop her.

"No need to thank me, my dear. The look on your face is all the appreciation I need. Now, if you'll just tell me your name, I'll have all these things delivered up to your room on the day of the ball, with the matching shoes and mask, of course. Now, many of the other girls have chosen to further their disguise by changing their hair color with one of my hair potions, guaranteed to beautifully color your hair and wash out in the morning."

"Well," Ginny said, "I don't think I want to go to all that trouble, but I suppose that it would help me disguise myself. I'll take whatever color potion you've sold the most of."

"I could give you that easily my dear, but it won't do you any good," Madam Spindelweb smiled. "Red has been a best seller all day. Perhaps you'd like to be blond for the evening?"

"No," Ginny decided. "I'll just go with my own hair color. People will expect me to dye my hair, so when I show up with red hair, no one will guess it's me, especially in a room full of so many other redheads."

"A wise decision my dear," Madam Spindelweb advised.

That afternoon, when Ginny left the classroom, she felt as though she were floating on air.


	3. Part Three

**The Masked Ball**

**By Serena-chan**

**Part Three:**

The day of the ball finally arrived. Although the wind still howled outside, blowing snow in every direction, the castle was ablaze with activity as everyone prepared for the night's festivities. Needless to say, most of the excitement was taking place in the girls' dormitories when they came back from lunch to find that all their clothing and costumes had been laid out on their individual beds.

Ginny couldn't help but gasp when she saw all her beautiful things laid out on her bed. The mask and shoes that Madam Spindelweb had picked out were perfect. The mask was a pale pink thing with silver lining, and the shoes were dainty, silvery white, and slightly transparent.

Gazing around at all the other girls, who were already beginning to put potion in their hair so they could begin styling it. To her dismay, she saw that Madam Spindelweb had indeed been right about all the other girls choosing flashy costumes. Her dress was by far the plainest. All the others were brilliant colors and dripping with feathers, sequence, and beads. She definitely would be singled out.

Oh well, she decided, if I'm going to be singled out, I definitely don't want them to know that it's me behind this mask.

Quickly gathering her things, Ginny dashed into one of the girls' bathrooms and locked the door. She held the gown up in front of her once more before she started getting ready. She suddenly felt very plain and childish next to the gown. Perhaps when she put it on she would look like a small child playing dress-up in her mum's clothing? Trying hard not to think about it, Ginny bit her lip and began pinning up her hair.

Ginny wasn't sure how many hours had passed as she meticulously styled her hair and put on her makeup, (Not too much though. She never wore much makeup, no matter what the occasion was.) but she suddenly became very aware that the noise and clatter in the girls' room had ceased. They must've already begun to walk down to the Great Hall where the ball was being held.

Taking a deep breath, Ginny stepped in front of the mirror and gasped. Earlier when she had looked in the mirror she had seen an awkward teenage girl, but now a beautiful woman was staring back at her in the glass. Ginny smiled, put on her mask, and left for the Great Hall.

The Great Hall looked magnificent. Professor Dumbledoor had indeed gone all out this time. They had used magic to lower the floor and create a huge grand staircase for the students to make their entrance on. Candles, flowers, and silky ribbons were everywhere. An orchestra played lively dancing music, and there were tables lined along the walls filled with food and drink. The "sky" above had been temporarily adjusted to not match the blustery weather outside, and bright twinkling stars shone down on the arriving students.

Harry and Ron hovered near the tables of food, munching pastries and watching the steady flow of students arriving. Neither of them had bothered to conceal their identity too much. Ron had simply not wanted to hide who he was, and Harry knew that no matter what kind of mask he wore, it wasn't going to keep his hair from sticking out at all angles as it always did.

Madam Spindelweb had coaxed Ron into wearing a silky green tunic with brown trousers and a shiny purple mask covered with green feathers and gold beads. Needless to say, he was feeling very foolish. The greens and purples of the costume set off his red hair brilliantly so everyone was bound to know it was him. (Hardly any of the boys had opted to wear hair potion.)

"When I told Hermione about my costume she said that I was probably going to look like an advertisement for Mardi Gras," Ron grumbled. "Whatever that means."

"I think it's some muggle holiday in France or something," Harry replied. He was dressed simply, but attractively in a black silk shirt with silver lining and black trousers with a black velvet mask with silver sequence. "By the way, what's Hermione wearing?"

"She wouldn't tell me," Ron complained. "She said I'd just have to guess. What's that supposed to mean?"

Harry grinned, "Judging by how you and Hermione act around each other, I'm guessing that means that if you guess wrong, you're a dead man."

Ron groaned and began pushing through the crowd, searching for any signs of Hermione. Harry sighed and smiled after his friend before wandering through the crowd himself, looking for anyone he could recognize.

He quickly realized that this would be much harder than he thought it would be. Most people had really gone all out on the costume thing, especially the girls. From the masks, elaborate costumes, hair potion, and makeup, it was a virtually impossible task!

Harry saw that most of the students were either already dancing with someone or hovering around on the sides, trying to find someone to dance with. He supposed he ought to be doing the same. He'd never really liked dancing, but that did seem to be the whole point of this ball. Besides, he might end up dancing with someone really interesting, even Cho!

Harry began to gaze intently out at the sea of people before him, wrinkling his nose at most of the girls' costumes. They were just so...flashy, so...big. Many of his fellow classmates had to hold their dancing partner at arm's length to keep from crushing the feathers on the front of the girls' gowns.

As he was eyeing the crowd, Harry saw that Ron had already found himself a dancing partner. _Guess I'm on my own for the evening_, Harry thought, fetching himself a glass of punch from a nearby bowl and slumping down in a chair. It was going to be a long night.

Ginny knew she was late, but glancing at the clock in the Gryffindor commons, she was relieved to see that she wasn't too terribly late. Just fifteen minutes. Still, she rushed through the empty hallways as quickly as her heals would allow her.

As she entered the Great Hall, Ginny stood in amazement for a moment, surveying the scene before her. A huge staircase led down to what looked more like a ballroom than the room she had eaten her lunch in only a few hours ago. The whole room was alive and simply bursting with warmth and color.

As she began descending the staircase, a few people acknowledged her with friendly greetings, although they had no idea who she was. It was in that moment that Ginny had a sudden, wonderful realization: She could truly be herself tonight.

She was always so timid and shy around others. She never exposed too much of herself for fear of getting hurt, especially after the Chamber of Secrets. Wearing this mask however, she had no fear. If she humiliated herself, no one would ever have to know it was her.

When she reached the bottom of the stairs, she suddenly found herself face to face with Harry Potter. She'd know him anywhere. Those beautiful green eyes, that impossible hair, yes it was definitely Harry, and he was looking right at _her_.

Harry was eyeing the doorway boredly, wondering if anyone would notice if he slipped out early, when the doors opened and a girl entered. The moment Harry saw her, all thoughts of Cho permanently left his mind, and he stared at the new arrival as if frozen. She was simply the most beautiful girl he'd ever laid eyes on. She wore a pink satin gown with simple modest designs and beads. Her red hair was pinned back from her face, and cascaded around her shoulders in waves of fiery curls.

She looked so different from the other girls around her, so pure, like an angel. She didn't need a flashy gown to make her attractive because beauty simply radiated from her.

He had to meet this girl. He simply had to! He leapt up and pushed his way through the crowded room towards her, his heart pounding in his chest.

_Almost there_...he felt as though he'd forgotten how to breathe...and there she was in front of him. She looked up at him with her beautiful brown eyes. He was so nervous. He didn't know what to say, but he knew he had to say something soon!

"May I...I mean, would...would you like to dance?" He winced. It certainly wasn't the most articulate thing he could have said. She'd probably turn him down.

"Of course I will."

Harry looked up to see her smiling warmly at him. His heart leapt with joy, and he took her hand to lead her onto the dance floor.

To be continued...

A/N: Mwahahaha! I'm so evil! Chapter four coming in the next day or two. Also, a big thanks to Jill-Weasley, Lil Lillian, tokris, Divagurl277, mary w, Hallie, Colleen, and Jade Green 14 for their wonderful reviews! Thanks again!

Serena-chan


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